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Interview with Pollen & Wax + giveaway

When I was a teenager, I was content with using the Costco shampoo and Ivory soap provided by my parents. My sister, on the other hand, was blowing her allowance on $20 bottles of conditioner. I think she bought her first Dr. Hauschka product at the tender age of 14. She’s always been on a quest for the best beauty products.

For more recent readers, my sister was also the original “Bee” of Crab & Bee – we started this blog together in 2011 before realizing that our interests (sewing for me, and clean beauty and living for her) easily deserved their own sites. She’s been been immersing herself in the health and safety issues in the beauty industry, as well as learning how to make what she wants with clean ingredients. She started her company, Pollen & Wax, last year and has been busily adding to her line ever since.

(Also, her product design and photography is insane!)

I’m so excited that the Bee is back for an interview and a giveaway!

What has been the biggest change you’ve noticed since changing to a clean beauty routine?

Bee: Consistently good skin without unhealthy dependencies – before, if I didn’t wash my face for a day, it became a Serious Problem. That’s what I love most about clean products – they don’t throw your system into imbalance by their absence, since the best ones work with and support your body’s natural processes.

How did you educate yourself on making products that were both safe and effective?

Bee: Gosh. It all started so gradually, it’s hard to pin down! One moment you’re a tween buying bargain makeup at the drugstore, and the next you’ve got your face buried in an organic chemistry text book and PubMed research articles. Mentors, teachers and a support network is a must, and if you have an experimental spirit and love reading, there’s very little in the way of instructional knowledge that’s out of reach! Dreaming big is just as important – you’re bound to fail at a few things, but it’s the “why not?” that really creates change.

Do you have any suggestions for people who are interested in removing toxins from their beauty routine but don’t know where to start?

Bee: I’m a huge fan of No More Dirty Looks – their book and blog changed my life by educating me on the perils of a cheap, industrially-produced beauty fix and helped me look for (and then make) clean products that worked (naturally, I gravitated toward the Good Stuff!). It can feel a little scary walking away from a trusted panel of products you’ve spent years cultivating for particular or fussy skin, and I totally understand!

Siobhan O’Connor & Alexandra Spunt of No More Dirty Looks

Luckily, there are more green beauty bloggers happily digging in to every shade of product than you can imagine – and truthfully, I owe much of my present success to their kind words and enthusiasm for green products, so it’s really wonderful to experience how green entrepreneurs can support each other. After you dig into to some inspiring blogs and books, take a page from the NMDL ladies and go at a pace you find comfortable. If you want to throw everything out and start over, or if you’d rather replace things as they run out, do that. (And give some consideration to first swapping out the products that cover the largest surface area – body oils, lotions, washes.)

One easy green fix is to avoid anything with “fragrance” listed as an ingredient – usually that means a chemical cocktail protected by proprietary license notoriously riddled with hormone disruptors and other toxins.

What are some easy or free things people can do to improve their skin without using a new product?

Bee: Oh, I love this question! The most important free thing you can do for your health and skin is educate yourself on the products you use and understand how they influence your health.

Everyone knows the usual mantra for good skin (sleep, hydration, stress management and diet) but there are tons of very affordable remedies very accessible to just about everyone. Grapeseed oil is a fantastically light oil just packed with antioxidants – it’s shelf stable and very affordable for its virtues, and I would venture to say suitable for just about any skin type that needed some light moisture. Shea butter is terrific for more intensive moisturizer and is great for hands, feet and night treatments.

Lavender essential oil is, in my mind, the most important essential oil I would single out for a beginner. It’s very safe and gentle – lavender is remarkable on burns, zits and other skin maladies. It tones and heals with remarkable strength and support a healthy cellular structure. There really is such a remarkable wealth of knowledge on the net, I encourage anyone interested in natural healing to dive right in!

Also, I have to say – though I make a very fine deodorant myself, I feel so strongly that people need to walk away from the drugstore stuff that I’d like to share a DIY recipe with you. Three ingredients from the cupboard, plus any essential oils you like will make a killer deodorant, and very effective. (P.S. I did not care for the grapefruit essential oil she suggested in that recipe – I smelled like a pina colada – so my personal taste would be a pleasant combo of lavender and tea tree, or whatever floats your boat!)

I love a good disaster story. My biggest beauty foible was trimming the baby hairs around my forehead and having them grow back in a thick line. That, or my penchant for poorly-applied Wet-n-Wild brick-red lipstick – I think I wore that stuff to bed. What’s yours?

Bee: It’s hard to pick just one…was it the time I tried to recreate an editorially glossy aqua eye and nearly blinded myself? Or greasy middle-school bangs? Or obliterating my eyebrows into two almost non-existent yet perpetually surprised commas? No…I think it was the time that I decided a heavy, oily pomade was an appropriate choice for my hair. My long hair. My long, very fine hair. Needless to say, I looked like something that had been fished out of the drain.

I was actually jealous of those eyebrows… Thanks again for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on clean beauty, sister!

Bee: Thanks for having me!

Bee is offering one of her four skincare collections to any Crab & Bee reader, along with a makeup bag made by yours truly! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment saying which collection you would like to win. (Check out P & W’s Typology feature to figure out which collection would work best for your skin.) Also, please feel free to also share your best beauty disaster story (because I love them so freaking much), ask Bee a question, or share your favorite clean beauty trick.

We’ll close the giveaway by Tuesday March 4th at 2pm PST and announce the winner shortly after!

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85 thoughts on “Interview with Pollen & Wax + giveaway”

What a lovely interview and giveaway!
I’m not completely sure, but I think that I’m most likely a July, so I would love to try that collection! I’d really like to figure out some kind of skin-care routine that works well for me, but I don’t know where to start and I definitely don’t want any nasty chemicals on or even near my skin.
My worst beauty disaster was probably when, at about age 16 or 17, I gave in to my then-boyfriend’s idea of bleaching my hair—and eyebrows! Let’s just say that I’m not a natural blonde and the bleach didn’t make me one. Yuck.

How very cool, this has been something that I have been interested in for a long time! I think the collection that would suit me best is January, my skin can be dry and is definitely “mature” hehe. I use a lot of DIY natural products, but my latest discovery is dry shampoo for brown hair made from cocoa powder and corn starch, it’s awesome. On my face I wash with Dr Bronner’s tea tree soap and use apple cider vinegar and water as a toner, and coconut oil if I need some moisture. My twenties were pretty much one continuos beauty disaster- bad hair cuts, bad dye jobs, over plucked eyebrows…

What a fun interview, i had no idea about your sister’s natural beauty interest. I think I’d be a September routine over on the Pollen and Wax site.

My best beauty disaster was trying to give myself highlights from a box. It was so bad that the next day I called in sick at work and ran to the nearest salon. Had to plunk down a chunk of money to get it fixed cause my hair is so thick and they need to use 2 things of dye on me.

I love that your sister’s passion for holistic living turned into a skincare line! This is super generous of you – I believe I would be a January.

I really have so many disaster stories because I’m a DIYer in every aspect of my life. I used to watch youtube vids on how to layer my hair myself and cut my own hair. I also thread my own eyebrows and I wax my own body hair. Needless to say, I’ve had nightmare moments doing all of those things. Maybe I should let professionals deal with my hair?

Your sister’s website is beautiful, she has done such a great job. I love natural products, and I love finding new companies. My beauty disaster was dying the ends, and only the ends of my hair black when I was in grade 9.
I would love to enter the win the April set.

How interesting! I’m nearly at the bottom of a bottle of cleanser and was just thinking this morning that I’d like to go to a cleaner routine, but it seems so scary and complicated. Thanks so much for sharing this interview! I think I’m a September, and I’ll definitely be ordering her trial set! Let’s see, I’ve had many beauty disasters was when my hair stylist quit unexpectedly and I just took the next available lady at the salon, who was an older lady that didn’t at all understand my haircut. I just needed a trim, and I ended up looking like David Bowie in the ’80’s! Did I mention this was a week before my sister’s wedding? Eek! I couldn’t afford to get it fixed and the photos from the wedding are really, really scary. :)

What beautiful products & what a great giveaway! pre-baby I spent quite a bit on fancy natural products. With a baby though I’ll need to start some DIY beauty so the deodorant recipe is great! I think I’d be a January so please enter me for that kit please. I’d love to ask your sister if she has any advice on what I could use as a moisturiser for a young baby? Someone recently said I shouldn’t use olive oil as it has salt in it?

I don’t have advice for babies since they have such special needs and I couldn’t live with myself if I gave misinformation! I do know that essential oils are by and large a no-no. I’d be curious to hear what your pediatrician thinks about coconut oil – I have a friend who had a lot of success with it on her baby who’d come down with a persistent rash.

I think my favourite beauty disaster happened when I was 11 and I decided to trim the baby hairs sprouting along my parting on top of my head. Every time they grew back I trimmed them, until I had an inch wide Mohawk on the top of my head, and the rest of my hair was shoulder length. Growing that out was a nightmare! My skin type is most definitely a July. I’ve been searching high and low for something to help sort me out, and this sounds like a beautiful solution!

Love your blog–recently discovered it on my quest to make my own clothes (so aside from the skin products, I’m also interested to seeing how you make your makeup bag too!). A few months ago I switched to a completely natural beauty routine since I have extremely dry yet sensitive skin. I would be very interested to test out the April set which seems to suit my skin type perfectly. I made my own facial oil but would love to incorporate a cleanser, toner, and clay into my routine as well.

Oh! and my beauty debacle story: When I was 10, I really hated my wispy side burns, because I was in that awkward self-conscious phase. My dad told me that if I wanted to fix them, I should just shave them. I thought that was so brilliant–if I hated them, I should just get rid of them! So he gave me his razor and I shaved them completely. Fast forward a week later, they began to grow in stick-straight tufts out of my head. I was so horrified and even more self conscious! I wore my hair down for a whole summer because I was so ashamed of the little thick tufts growing from my head. So…now I know I shouldn’t listen to my dad for beauty advice. Thankfully, many years later the thick sideburns have blended into my hair.

Fun stuff! I have no idea what month I would be. My beauty routine is washing my face in cold water… I am celiac and am kind of leery of branching out and trying new things so this sounds really interesting.
I recently read all you need is conditioner not shampoo everyday and totally messed my hair chemistry up for two weeks. I finally put some jojoba oil in my shampoo and that seemed to soothe my scalp.
Can you tell I don’t know much about beautifying things… :)

I love the idea of clean beauty products, I actually use a lot of raw honey on my face, which definitely seems to have helped – I started realising just how many chemicals I was putting on my skin, and freaked out a little bit! So yeah, I’d LOVE to win this giveaway… these products look so beautiful and useful!

Hmmm… my most embarrassing beauty disaster…. trying a home made teeth whitening recipe I’d come across on Pinterest, which clearly burned my gums a little bit and turned them WHITE. My teeth stayed the same colour though,

I think July suits me! This approach to skin care is so attractive to me after years and years of skin problems and using all those terrible chemicals and products without much result other than them making me feel worse internally and externally. These products on the other hand look soothing and downright enjoyable. I’ve heard a lot about cleansing oils lately and was just about sold on them based on some rave reviews, but of course I also ran into some cautionary tales around the internet — I would love to learn more about these oils and how effective they are for people with acne-prone skin.

I love a good cleansing oil! I’ve heard the cautionary tales too – everyone’s skin is different, and some people do experience a transition period as their skin adjusts to not being prompted to overproduce oil (which led to acne in the first place). The most interesting aspect of cleansing oils is that they’re quite a bit more powerful than most folks give them credit for; you hear “oil” and think that it will be most emollient – in reality, they deliver a very thorough excavating. It’s crucial to use a good, clean washcloth, and very warm water as it’s the steaming action plus the oil that does the cleaning. (I’ve tried it with cold water – and it is gross). The same principle goes towards my advocacy of facial oil and serums for acneic skin – deprivation of oil and moisture will create further imbalance in the skin by compensation, which is a rough ride.

Oh my heavens! I have lofty dreams for my sister to open up shop for her lovely creations (in particular, I’m campaigning very hard for her to take up print-making again). And, as should be pretty well documented by now, we do love a good sister collabo! I would love to expand into a makeup line, but I’m afraid that’s pretty far down the road for me. As my sister can attest, I’m up to my eyeballs in new products and ideas – after a laundry list of skin care products (and one particular shampoo for angry scalps), I’d like to begin perfuming with natural ingredients. Difficult, but I’m convinced it can be done!

My beauty disaster has to be the spiral perm in 1988! or maybe the iridescent blue eyeshadow I wore to the school dance in grade 8! I’m a September! I am not very financial at the moment so I really appreciate the deodorant recipe as I hate the thought of those commercial ones and never wear deodorant when I’m just at home.

I have been following your blog for over a year now, and I look forward to every update! I also love when you team up with your sister, like this entry :) as far as the giveaway goes, the July kit seems like a good match!

My skin definitely fits in the September typography. How fun that you got to interview your sis on your blog! You must be so proud. I love to clean my hair with a simple baking soda and water combo. Not an everyday thing, just when I feel like my hair is feeling gross. :)

This is so cool! I think I would be a September! Your sister seems pretty amazing – must run in the family ;)
One of my worst stories is when I wasn’t allowed to dye my hair in high school, so I used Sun In to try and lighten it a bit with a hairdryer. I didn’t think it was working so I just kept adding more and more and more – didn’t realize it needed a couple minutes to really work and ended up a carrot top ;)

Oh wow! AMAZING! I am definitely a July. As far as beauty disasters? Maybe the time I tried to bleach my hair and it melted? Or the time my sister used hot wax and it left a not-subtle-at-ALL red rash on my eyebrows and upper lip…which wasn’t even hairy to begin with!!! OR the time I bought cheap mascara and it made my eyes swell shut-?! UUUUUUGH!!!!!! I am clearly a beauty disaster!

i am so interested in this type of beauty product! whenever i look at the “natural” products in the stores it’s so overwhelming. i love how you sister has skin type collections to make it a lot easier! i’m probably a july or september… i’ve always been prone to breakouts (even now in my 30s… argh!) so anything to alleviate that would be stellar!
i think my worst beauty disasters were the home perms combined with short hair… i had a shocking afro in 3rd grade… *shudder*

What an interesting interview! Thank you both so much. And, I appreciate the No More Dirty Looks link. Another great site.
If I win, I think I’d like the January collection – being that I have ‘mature’ skin this might give it a boost :o)
Okay, my worst beauty disaster – well, back in the ’80s I had a short-haired perm and I one Saturday I decided I was going to bleach my hair blonde…with a home kit…right before I was going out with my friends in the evening! So, as you can imagine things did not turn out as I wanted. Too many chemicals = my hair turned orange, and I probably cried for a good hour. I was able to dye it, which toned down the orange a little bit but I just had to let the hair grow so I could cut the orange out. Ironically, I actually ended up with ombre hair years before it was actually a hair style! Hmm, my big hair disaster was a trend-setter!

This is so exciting! Yea Bee! I think i’m a January, so dry year-round. My biggest beauty disaster has to be experimenting with hair coloring in junior high. I tried to go red and it lasted about 6 months longer on my blonde hair than i thought it would. I wanted so bad to be Angela Chase.

Beauty disasters- so many hair stories. I’ve been every colour of the rainbow and some were definitely more successful than others (note to self, never dye your blonde hair black again). I think I’m a September. Thanks for the giveaway.

I would LOVE the January skin set! I too am a big fan of Bee – her Forest Floor healing balm is appropriate on everything (I even use it as a chapstick). Let’s see… my biggest beauty disaster was also eyebrow related. I never plucked until I let a friend do it for me as a junior in high school. I had rather bushy brows – dare I admit the unibrow that I would occasionally SHAVE? – but somehow her enthusiastic over-plucking traumatized my follicles that day, and they never grew back. SInce then I’ve had rather pathetic eyebrows. I only wish the other hairs I plucked would feel traumatized to stay away…

My worst beauty disaster happened today, so this post is timely. I mistakenly gave in to a hard sale by Makeup Essentials. Naively, I bought a makeup set after being approached on the street. They claimed to be press-worthy and like MAC. Only after I put it on did I get a nasty reaction. Should have researched them. The April set seems perfect for my sensitive and reactive skin. Makeup Essentials went straight to the trash. Great interview and I’m glad to see good press about Pollen and Wax.

What an interesting read! My best friend is like your sister and I’ve always admired her responsibility. I think I am a September girl.
I’ve done pretty well for avoiding any major beauty foibles but for a while I dyed my hair black…. My already naturally black hair….. Yeah, stripped it of shine and life with no discernible colour difference…

I found it fascinating reading about your sister’s path to becoming a clean beauty evangelist and I’m even more impressed she has got to the stage of developing her own products. If you’re shipping internationally I would like to try the Winter range as my previously combination skin has dried with age. I use Shea butter or olive oil soap in the shower and buy my cleansers etc. from a small UK family company who don’t use chemical additives, but I’m always excited to try something new. You never know! As for beauty disasters, the one-inch haircut vies for position with my attempts in my late teens to fake tan my legs. Somewhere there is a photo of me on a beach, with my legs bright orange – needless to say a completely different shade to the rest of me! I am now convinced fake tan is the work of the devil. It’s strange, the things I used to think were sophisticated!

Wow. I can so relate to this because I stopped using any kind of commercially produced skin care product years ago – and I’ve never been happier. Whilst Bee’s totally on the money about hydration, sleep and diet being the biggest contributing factors towards having great skin – I absolutely adore alternating between organic rose hip oil (with a little vitamin E oil to stabilise it and stop it going rancid) and organic kiwi seed oil. They’re perfection for my combination/oily skin. The only makeup I wear is mascara (and then, only when going out… or for blog photos!) because I just can’t abide the idea of all that chemical crap on my skin. Although I’ve relented when it comes to lipstick, which I’m totally going through a revival on right now!
I’m so impressed your sister has come up with her product line – it’s exactly the kind of stuff I’m into.
As for beauty disasters… does a perm count? ARGH!!!! Although, at least I discovered that I lurve having short hair because of it (as soon as I’d grown it out by an inch or two, I cut it all off!!), but weirdly don’t quite have the guts to go short again!
I’m a September gal – both in birthday months and Bee’s product line :)

What a great giveaway, especially because it’s aligned with two of my passions, sewing and natural beauty products, and I am blown away by your sister’s line of products. For clean beauty, I’ve stopped using shampoo (I wash with a baking soda and honey mix followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse and natural conditioner), makeup, and soap or detergent-based facial cleansers because they dry my skin out so much. The only product I use currently is Ursa Major Skin Balm (a Burlington-based line of men’s skin care products that my brother works for – although the cream works great for ladies, too!)

As for disasters, there were many, but shaving dry before school one day in freshman year of high school takes the cake. I really wanted to wear a new skirt and impress the older girls with my slick sense of style (hah!), and during the day a huge splotchy red rash covered my legs!

As for the kits, I think September would work best with my combination skin. Thanks again for a great giveaway!

I would be a January myself but have a young teen daughter who is definitely a September. I constantly steer her in the direction of natural products but she is enticed by the packaging and marketing of what she sees her friends using…

I love the idea of clean beauty products. My face gets red and blouchy on a daily basis and I know it probably has a lot to do with the beauty products I put on my face everyday. I could really use a fresh start with some clean products. I would pick the January Kit!

How wonderful that your sister’s made a career of her passion! Confused sounds about right for describing my skin (and all of the rest of me) right about now, so I’d like the September collection. I’ve been trying to switch over to a more natural skin care regimen for some time now, so it’s lovely to discover the extremely beautiful Pollen & wax line anyway.

Wow, I would love to try a clean beauty routine. And your sister’s line is beautiful! It’s great to hear how much research and science and gone into it. I think I’d be a September. A question for her: if you’re switching over from drugstore products, is there a transition period where your skin goes a little crazy before settling down?

My official answer is “it’s different for everyone”, which is boring but true. Obviously, if your skin is very fussy or sensitive to changes in routine, a transition phase is more likely – and it can pay to introduce products more slowly if that’s a concern for you. Though you always want to pay careful attention to your skin for real sensitivities, allergies and problems, consider that your body may be readjusting after serious imbalance. I am extremely biased on the subject, but I really believe that our body is capable of incredible healing.

This post could not be more timely, Morgan. For the past two weeks I have been asking all my friends about their beauty routines because after years of using high end beauty potions that are filled with chemicals (more recently, Lancome), I am so done and so ready for clean beauty. I’m about to ran out of eye cream (a necessity at my age) and need to find a natural substitute for that, and will also be replacing the moisturizer and toner as they ran out with more natural products so I am all over exploring Bee’s products. Based on her website, I think I may be a “January” so please throw my name in the hat for this giveaway.

As for beauty disasters, it is oly in recent years that I have started wearing make up and so far no major disasters, but in my “youth” when I was in my a crunchy granola phase, I really wanted dreadlocks. I went four months without using shampoo (although I did wet my hair) in the hopes that I would just spontaneously get dreads. I just looked like a limp haired grease ball. That, and I did not shave for about three years. It was not pretty!

Wow how lovely! I’ve never been one to invest much in beauty products but I am certainly not happy with my skin. I would love to try out something real. I believe I’m an April.
Do you remember those colorful “gel pens” that girls would use to write colorful notes and doodle on their stuff in middle school? I used to use them as EYELINER. Terrible. Don’t do it.

I could use a better skin routine. I think I’m most likely a January (also the month in which I was born, which seems appropriate).

I think my beauty disaster would probably be the time I had my friends help my home-highlight my hair in high school. My hair ended up essentially entirely bleached instead of dark with some lovely highlights through it. I have pretty dark hair, so this was quite a disaster.

What a great interview! My favorite cosmetics are from lush, so this sounds right up my alley. I’d love to try the September kit, if only because it’s listed for ‘confused skin types’ which I’ve never seen but I’m pretty sure that’s me.
As for a skin care disaster- I tried this amazing deodorant from lush. It smelled divine and it worked really well against sweat and stench. However, after a week or so of using, it turned my underarms into burning rings of fire. I couldn’t wear deodorant for 3 days at least. Shortly after it was discontinued, I’m guessing because I wasn’t the only one.

First off, I just wanna say that I find you and your sister both very inspiring. You’re both finding ways to do what you love! I come from a town where, I kid you not, everyone’s dad worked for the steel mill in some capacity and everyone’s mom was a nurse, a teacher or stay-at-home. With each move I’ve made in my life (especially to the west coast and San Francisco) I’ve been exposed to creative people finding ways to live their dream and I love hearing stories about people following their passion!

Anyhoo, to the matter at hand. I’d never thought much about it but “reactive” seems like a really good word to describe my skin, so I think I’m an April. What a generous giveaway!

As for beauty disasters, did anyone else fall victim to the Kool-Aid hair dye craze? I was in grade 9 in the early 90s and all the older kids at my high school had hair dyed angsty shades of red (think Claire Danes on “My So Called Life”). I wasn’t allowed to dye my hair so I dyed it with purple Kool-Aid in the laundry tub. But, being a total goody-goody I was afraid of getting in trouble so I only dyed the underside of my hair! What was the point of that??!

What a lovely giveaway! One of my girls has started making her own beauty products… I will tell her to check out your sisters offerings! And send the deodorant recipe off to her! My biggest beauty disaster? When my hair was long it used to get snarled behind my neck when I was sleeping. Instead of braiding my hair before bed like any sane person would do I would just contend with this snarl every morning. One day for the life of me I could not get it out… I don’t know what came over me but I cut it out… ooops- and because it was the back of my neck I cut a little too much,… Good thing hair grows back!

Loved the interview and the initiative! I’ve definitely had more than my fair share of hair dye jobs gone horribly wrong – but on a more positive note – my absolute favorite natural makeup remedy is mixing egg white with a little bit of lemon juice and using it as a face mask. Nothing makes my skin feel brighter, cleaner, or spring-ier! I think the April kit would best treat my skin type – the nyc cold/windy winter is definitely wreaking havoc on my skin!

The products look amazing. I have always had super straight hair so in Jr. High I used aqua net Hair spray and spray it all over my bangs then scrunch them up. So I used to walk around with straight hair and a puff of teased bangs. It was terrible. I hope I win April.

I’m so happy for your sister and how beautiful her products look. She has got such a great range. I really hope that she goes into shampoos soon as I would love to try to break the addition to daily hair washing! All my beauty disasters are hair related ! :)

Thank you so much! I’m too slowly converting to all natural products, but beauty care items can be pricey…. Id love to try the September or January set. not sure which one would fit better. Thank you :)

This is perfect! I’ve been following your blog as I’m teaching myself to sew and also recently started on a green beauty journey for myself. I have actually been eyeing these products already and would love a chance to try them! So cool that your sister is the creator! I’d love to try a collection. I’d go for the July one.

Worst beauty mistake… plucking my eyebrows out in high school… not cute and luckily they grew back! ;)

Oh, me, oh, my – that is one gorgeous looking skincare line! And that it´s “nice on the inside as well”, is just amazing. I have been using lots and lots of time over the last years on finding my way through the jungle of skincare, and this line looks just wonderful. Fantastic job, and what a sweet interview. Loved it! :) Oh, and if I should win, I would probably be a September girl, confused and combination. Sounds like me;-)

And the skincare disaster? Right before I had my epiphany and started to search for less-evil skincare products, I tried Proactive. Nuff said…

This is a very generous giveaway! I would love to try the July set. I am nearly 30 years old and my skin is still so prone to breakouts that I am terrified to go a night without the old benzoyl peroxide… But lately have begun to wonder if it’s really just become a placebo. Delving into new products and routines for skin care is so daunting to me though. But then again, has anyone else ever had the neck of their favorite shirt bleached by Benz. Peroxide? (or the fancy pillowcases at their mother-in-laws?. ..eek!).

I love this interview! I have switched a lot of my products due to allergies and chemical sensitivitie & I am so excited to be introduced to your sister’s skin care line because I can actually use it. I believe I would be a July.
As far as a beauty horror story…I convinced my dad that my mom had OKed a haircut when she was traveling out of town. I chopped my VERY long hair from like half way down my back to a pixie cut. I looked so strange I cried and then my mom panicked when she saw me and I was in soooo much trouble.

This stuff looks awesome! I’d definitely be an April for most of the time. Stupid beauty disaster: I have keratosis pillars (bumpy skin around hair follicles) on my upper arms. In high school, I had a sleeveless dress for a dance and i thought it would be a great solution to use a pumice to rid myself of those bumps. Well, that is a VERY BAD IDEA. I ended up with raw, red, very painful arms for weeks. It felt like an untreatable sunburn. Don’t ever do that.

I’m not really sure if I’m a September or April, so if I win the giveaway, I need a recommendation! :) I currently just wash my face with “basis” and moisturize with an oil-based moisturizer (can’t remember the name). If I don’t use the moisturizer, my skin is tight/dry but then my T-zone is very oily. If I use it, my skin looks balanced. So that makes me think I’m a September. But then my skin is sensitive to heat, and I often get very red/flushed cheeks, which makes me think I’m an April. I don’t get blemishes very often, but when I do, it’s almost always around my mouth only.

My only beauty disaster was that I used to straighten my hair when it was semi-wet because it made it straighter. Also dried the crap out of my hair though, obviously! Now I just leave my curly hair as-is. I will never straighten again!

What a great interview and giveaway. Your sister’s website is lovely. I’ve actually been looking for a good skincare line- I’m slowly switching all my beauty products to greener organic versions. My biggest beauty disaster was when I tried to give myself a home perm in High School and burned the back of my neck. Huge rash that lasted longer then my curly hair did :P I think I’d be a January.

Thanks for this fabulous giveaway! Loved reading your stories, too. My biggest beauty disaster was cutting my own hair in middle school; hair seems so much longer when it’s wet, when it dried it was not a pretty sight! It took months to grow it out.
I’m definitely a January typology.

This is awesome! What a talented bunch of ladies you two are! I absolutely love your sister’s design aesthetic for her line – and it sounds so beautiful! I made the switch to an entirely clean skincare & beauty routine a few years ago – and it was A LOT of trial and error to figure out what worked for me – but now my skin is much more balanced, and I actually prefer my clean makeup brands (I mostly use RMS for makeup, it’s lovely). But I’m such a beauty junkie I would love to try some new products out! I can’t quite decide if I’d be a July or September…
And my biggest beauty disaster happened when I was old enough to know better! When I was in grad school I decided I wanted platinum blonde hair (which in itself was ill advised… but there ya go…) and even worse I decided I was going to do it myself from a box! I burnt the crap out of my scalp and my hair was the most awful shade of baby-chick-yellow. I thought I’d do a double process, but it hurt my scalp so bad I never went back for seconds. Also, I decided to do this the night before I was supposed to go spend a week with my husband’s family (we had just begun to date) and meet everyone for the first time. I looked like a porn star with a red, flaking scalp! Thankfully I don’t think any of them held my awful hair against me. Nick’s 12 year old nephew even told me I looked like Hannah Montana – which I was supposed to take as a compliment.